A van ploughed into worshippers leaving a London mosque early today (Monday June 19), killing at least one person and injuring at least eight people.

The vehicle hit people as they were leaving the Finsbury Park Mosque, one of the biggest in the country.

Police said one man was pronounced dead at the scene and that the van driver, 48, had been detained by members of the public before being arrested.

Police said they were called just after 12:20 a.m. to reports of a collision on Seven Sisters Road.

Muhbeen Hussain, founder of British Muslim Youth, said: “We strongly condemn this horrendous suspected terrorist attack and pray for the innocent victims and their families that have been affected by this incident.

“I have personally visited the scene of the attack and spoke to many eyewitnesses, many of whom were quite emotional after witnessing a murder and seeing many people being injured.

“There were also high emotions as many witnesses saw this as a deliberate attack on Muslims.

“Other reports even suggest that the individual that has now been arrested for the incident was taken under citizen arrest by many of the Muslim worshippers at the scene and handed over to the police.

“I have also heard that this individual was shouting, ‘I want to kill all Muslims’."

13:33Chris Elliott

Message from Cambridge campaigners

Joint statement from Cambridge Stand Up to Racism and Cambridge Unite Against Fascism: “We send our solidarity and sympathy to all those caught up in the horrific events at the Finsbury Park Mosque earlier today. We stand one hundred per cent with our Muslim brothers and sisters, and feel sure that most of Cambridge and the UK will feel the same.

“Such attacks are completely unrepresentative of the diverse, multicultural society which we are proud to be part of. However, we are aware that Islamophobia is a growing problem in our society, one which has unfortunately been fanned by members of the establishment seeking to deflect anger and discontent towards minorities. We utterly condemn these calculated attempts to sow division.

“We stand with the Muslim community against all forms of racism, whether this be physical, verbal or institutional, in the knowledge that most residents value our multicultural diverse society.”

12:40Chris Elliott

Prime Minister: mosque attack 'sickening'

Theresa May has vowed that “hatred and evil” of the kind seen in the attack will never succeed.

The Prime Minister was speaking following a meeting with security officials and ministers in the Government’s Cobra emergency committee in Whitehall.

She confirmed that police believe the man who drove a van into worshippers outside Finsbury Park Mosque in the early hours of Monday acted alone.

Speaking outside 10 Downing Street, Mrs May said the attack had “once again targeted the ordinary and the innocent going about their daily lives - this time, British Muslims as they left a mosque, having broken their fast and prayed together at this sacred time of year”.

She added: “Today we come together, as we have done before, to condemn this act and to state once again that hatred and evil of this kind will never succeed.”

Mrs May said that the attack on Muslims was “every bit as insidious and destructive to our values and our way of life” as the recent string of terror attacks apparently motivated by Islamist extremism, adding: “We will stop at nothing to defeat it.”

She said police would continue to assess the security needs of mosques and would provide whatever additional resources were needed. “This was an attack on Muslims near their place of worship and, like all terrorism in whatever form, it shares the same fundamental goal. It seeks to drive us apart and to break the precious bonds of solidarity and citizenship which we share in this country,” she said.

“We will not let this happen. This morning we have seen a sickening attempt to destroy those freedoms and to break those bonds of citizenship that define our United Kingdom.

“It is a reminder that terrorism, extremism and hatred take many forms and our determination to tackle them must be the same whoever is responsible.”

Mrs May said there had been “far too much tolerance of extremism” - including Islamophobia - and that the Government was determined to stamp it out. She affirmed plans to deny extremists a “safe space” on the internet and to review the Government’s counter-terrorism strategy.

The Prime Minister acknowledged that the attack came at a “difficult time” for London following the Grenfell Tower fire and the London Bridge attack and she paid tribute to the spirit of the city. “What we have seen throughout - whether in the heroism of the ordinary citizens who fought off the attackers at London Bridge; the unbreakable resolve of the residents in Kensington; or this morning the spirit of the community that apprehended this attacker - is that this is an extraordinary city of extraordinary people,” she said.

“It is home to a multitude of communities that together make London one of the greatest cities on Earth - diverse, welcoming, vibrant, compassionate, confident and determined never to give in to hate.

“These are the values that define this city. These are the values that define this country. These are the values that this Government will uphold.”

11:37Chris Elliott

Footage after the mosque attack posted on Twitter

The BBC has tweeted video footage of people trying to restrain the suspect.

Eyewitness says attacker was 'shielded by imam'

The BBC is reporting that an eyewitness saw the mosque’s imam protect the attacker while waiting for the police.

Hussain Ali told the broadcaster: “The leader of the mosque said ‘You do not touch him’. He was sitting and holding him like that, people kept holding him.

“I saw people taking a man from underneath the van, he was black, bleeding, he was not dead, he was alive. “People who were inside saw the attacker was smiling, he was waving, he was happy.

“It was panic, people were shouting, screaming, some saying it was an accident. It was panic, it was horror.”

A forensic tent has been erected at the scene this morning

09:27Chris Elliott

Extra police on duty

The Met Police Commissioner has issued a statement on the force website.

Cressida Dick said: “London is a city of many faiths and many nationalities. An attack on one community is an attack on all of us.

“Terrorists will not succeed in their attempts to divide us and make us live in fear.

“Extra officers are on duty in the area to help reassure the local community. They will be there for as long as they are needed.

“Communities will see additional officers patrolling across the city and at Muslim places of worship. We are working as hard as we can to protect all our communities, and we will not be defeated.”

09:09Chris Elliott

Met police: nobody else in white van

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said reports of a number of suspects running away from the van were being investigated, but added: “From what we are seeing and what witnesses are reporting to us there was nobody else in the van, it appears that this time this attacker attacked alone.

“This is not to say we are not investigating the full circumstances of how he came to be where he was, but at this point in time there was nobody else in the van.”

08:40Chris Elliott

Police briefing: this was 'attack on all Londoners'

Neil Basu, the Met Police’s deputy assistant commissioner, said at a media briefing: “This was an attack on all Londoners and we should all stand together against extremists whatever their cause.”

Officers were at the scene at the time of the attack so were able to respond instantly, he added - and additional officers were on the scene within 10 minutes.

A police forensic tent at the scene

08:19

Number of injured revised

Police say the number of injured has been revised to 10, from 8.

08:00

Met Police tweet

Re #SevenSisters Rd #Finsburypark incident - At this early stage there are no other suspects, however the investigation continues.